DVD Pick: -->They Live (1988)



"Watching eyes of celluloid tell you how to live,
Metaphoric motor replay, give, give, give!"
Black Sabbath

NO SPOILERS:
"They Live" ...is one of those films you just ...GET...or it misses your radar completely.

A sci-fi thriller with some very funny moments, director John Carpenter obviously filmed this gem on a down-low budget. Which explains the somewhat cheesy special effects. But it IS these cheesy moments that really sell the film.

Handing the lead role to Roddy Piper (pro wrestler fame) was a masterstroke. Roddy delivers a surprisingly near-flawless performance playing a drifter in search of construction work.

"They Live" takes place in a metro city in the near future and Carpenter immediately shows a place filled with homeless and near homeless families living in boxes and small rooms. They are good people trying to avoid drawing attention from the heavily controlled police state.

It is here where Roddy stumbles upon a few citizens/rebels who have discovered that humans everywhere are being brainwashed and mind controlled by a bombardment of subliminal messages. They are being delivered in auditory and visual ways 24 hours a day by disguised aliens who are walking and working among us. (Not so terribly far-fetched if you ask me). Roddy provides the muscle to try and break this scheme up.

This film is filled with oddly funny scenes and wonderfully cheesy one-liners to amuse us as we learn just how wrong our government has turned. And the musical score by Carpenter is nicely done.
MUST SEE MOMENT:
Watch for Roddy delivering some hilarious lines when discovering what the aliens look like. Also there is a long, long back-alley fight scene between Roddy and his buddy (Keith David) that has Carpenter paying homage to the wrestling community.

MoSkeet

Black Sabbath-->"Spiral Architect" off Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1976)
(Own This CD)

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